Modern Warfare 4 Switch 2 Footage Surfaces, Runs at 60fps Before Aug 28 Beta

The first footage of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 running on Nintendo Switch 2 has arrived, and it looks considerably better than sceptics expected. Switch 2 wasn’t part of this week’s early access period, but Nintendo Life reports that Activision handed a small group of creators and outlets hands-on time with the Nintendo build over the weekend, ahead of the wider open beta that lands on all platforms on August 28.

The result is a handful of gameplay clips and written impressions that paint the port as a genuine surprise, not a stripped-down curiosity.

14 Minutes of Docked Footage From BoTalksGames

The most-shared clip comes from YouTuber BoTalksGames, who shared 14 minutes of gameplay footage in docked mode. Destructoid described the same video as showcasing the game in action while playing in Docked mode, calling it a very smooth experience, adding that the result was looking pretty solid to the surprise of many who expected far worse.

Nintendo Life’s round-up of the reaction summed the video up as a “pretty impressive port” that, while “not perfect,” trades some resolution and draw distance for a solid frame rate. Notebookcheck’s read on the same footage noted that BoTalksGames applauded the shooter’s performance, which targets 60 fps in docked and handheld modes, though the creator could only test the 3 vs 3 variation of the new Kill Block option.

Handheld Mode Holds Up, Mouse Controls Confirmed

A second look at the game away from the TV came via CBR, which covered separate handheld footage from the same creator. The outlet reported that the video shows the beta booting from the Switch 2 home screen and running through menus and gameplay entirely in handheld mode, with load times as the main nitpick but the rest of the performance otherwise very smooth.

YouTube channel Switch Force reached a similar conclusion after its own session, with a comment quoted by Nintendo Life: “For the most part, I was hopping into games no problem, loading times were totally reasonable… Frame rate and multiplayer held up, really the resolution is kind of my only complaint…so it’s not a bad first impression, a good net code first impression.”

Notebookcheck also flagged that Infinity Ward appears to have kept feature parity between formats, noting the build achieved feature parity, offering identical single-player and multiplayer modes as on other platforms, while also supporting Switch 2 mouse mode and even its internal microphone.

Digital Legends Entertainment Named as Co-Developer

Alongside the footage, the studio behind the Switch 2 version identified itself publicly for the first time. Digital Legends Entertainment posted on social media: “Breaking boundaries once again!” The studio confirmed that Infinity Ward is developing the game natively for Switch 2 in partnership with Digital Legends, bringing the Modern Warfare series to Nintendo players for the first time in more than a decade.

That decade-plus gap is worth putting a number on. CBR noted that Call of Duty: Ghosts was the series’ last installment to support a Nintendo console, the Wii U, back in 2013, making Modern Warfare 4 the first mainline entry on Nintendo hardware in 13 years.

Open Beta Runs August 28 to September 1, Full Launch October 23

Everyone gets a proper crack at the Switch 2 build soon. Activision’s own beta page confirms that players on all platforms, including Nintendo Switch 2, will be able to jump into the Open Beta Weekend starting August 28 at 10:00 AM PT, with no pre-order required for that second weekend.

That weekend also marks a first for the franchise. Nintendo Life reported that the beta gets underway on 28th August 2026 and runs until 1st September 2026, apparently the first time a Call of Duty beta has given players access to a campaign mission, the “Entrenched” mission. Switch 2 owners can pre-order the game starting August 26, ahead of the full release on October 23, 2026.

Read also: Nintendo Erases 400+ Switch Emulator Repos in One-Day GitHub DMCA Sweep

For a franchise still recovering from a soft reception to Black Ops 7, a working, native Switch 2 port changes the calculation for Nintendo owners who have sat out Call of Duty since the Wii U days. The open beta on August 28 will be the real test, run by the wider public rather than a handful of chosen creators.